


Wrong Place, Purrfect Time

by Ladyoftime315



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Adorable Jester Lavorre, Caleb Widogast Deserves Nice Things, Caleb Widogast Needs a Hug, F/M, Jester might be flirting, Pining Caleb Widogast, Polymorph Spell, Polymorth shenanigans, spoilers for e111
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26852419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyoftime315/pseuds/Ladyoftime315
Summary: Cat!Jester continues to explore Widogast's Nascent Nein-Sided Tower. At first she sticks to the rooms everyone knows, but one night she finds a lonely wizard in a room not meant for her to see.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 81





	Wrong Place, Purrfect Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Never written for CR, but the idea was in my head and wouldn't go away. So here we are. Probably just a one shot, unless it keeps bugging me. Please Enjoy! Spoilers up to ep111.

The magic of Caleb’s nine sided tower had not worn off, but it was starting to feel like a home. The Mighty Nein had used it for refuge while trying to search for whatever soul was traipsing around the tundra in their Mollymauk’s body. In the evening they ate together in relative silence before retiring to their own havens that Caleb had created just for them. Beau and Caleb would spend a few hours most nights in the Library, pouring over her notes and what books were in the Tower’s collection. Yasha would frequently join them, flipping through books but mostly just watched as Beau constructed a bulletin board of her web of coincidences.

Fjord and Caduecus would spend their evenings meditating and reaching out to the Wildmother, seeking answers for the pile of questions the Nein were desperate to answer. Veth would have Jester send messages to Yuza every evening. Her desire to home with her husband was clearly growing stronger. She was spending less time at Caleb’s side and more in her own room. Veth would still make use of the laboratory that existed near the Library, but it was usually just to tinker with her own creations - making special bolts for her crossbow. 

Jester was mostly left to her own devices in the moments after their meals together. After Veth’s messages, and a Scry on Molly if she had it in her, there wasn’t much left for her to be useful. She didn’t have the patience for study and the notes that Beau and Caleb had. Her relationship with The Traveller didn’t need the meditation and devotion that Fjord and Cad spent on the Wildmother. In a way, she appreciated the more traditional means of worship they had, but ultimately, she loved what she had with The Traveller. Which is why she spent as much time as she could as a fluffy blue cat running through the tunnels of the tower. 

After a few days of this, Jester was starting to learn the layout of the various secret tunnels. Her travels through the space had turned into somewhat of a ritual for her and her friends. She’d start by popping into the room where Fjord and Cad would sit cross legged on the floor. The fluffy blue cat Jester would hop into their laps, headbutting them until they lost focus. 

Fjord shook his head and blew air from his lips, creating a small buzzing sound, “Jester….” He pushed her gently from his lap. The cat Jester let out a small meow that resembled a disgruntled “hrumph.” Fjord wiggled his nose, trying to prevent the sneeze that was creeping into his sinuses. 

She trotted behind Cad and climbed up the tall firbolg’s back, which hardly caused him to stir. Jester cat perched herself on his shoulder, balancing somewhat precariously. A paw batted gently at a floppy ear, finally getting Cad to come out of his daze. “What?” He glanced over his right shoulder, “Oh, hello Jester.” A lazy smile appeared on his face as he reached up to scratch behind her ears. 

Cat Jester leaned into Cad’s hands while she glared at Fjord for rebuking her affections. Or at least, she glared as much her fluffy blue form would allow. She hopped down from his shoulder and let out a chirp as she trotted back towards the tunnels. From there, cat Jester would find her way to the Library. She’d found that the string Beau used to connect together wild thoughts on her board was endlessly fascinating to her.  
Beau was in the process of pinning up another piece as Jester burst into the room, the tail end of a string dangling just a few inches off the ground. Her eyes got impossibly wide as she lowered herself to the ground. Her butt rose into the air as she heard a delicate chuckle from her left. Yasha had seen her cat instincts take over, but it only distracted her for the briefest of moments before she launched herself at the string. 

“What the FUUU…!” Beau shouted as the string was suddenly yanked from her hands. She glanced down to see a blue fluff running away with long thread trailing behind her. Beau quickly stepped on the opposite end which caused cat Jester to stop suddenly, her prize now seemingly fighting back. She tugged again, unable to quite process why it wasn’t coming with her.

By now, cat Jester’s antics and Beau’s rather loud response had caused Caleb to peak up from the book his nose had been buried in. He barely glanced over the top of the tome, but it was enough that a small crooked smile broke on his usually stern face. How could he not smile at the image of Beau fighting with a blue cat. 

Beau reached down and grabbed the end of the string and with a hard tug, yanked it from Jester’s mouth. “Ha. Got my string back!” She shook the end of it in front of Jester’s face, taunting her. A paw reached out and batted the string as Beau yanked it up, just out of the cat’s reach. This went on for another few moments as Yasha’s quiet laugh morphed into something of a snort. The sudden noise distracted Beau just long enough for Jester to get a hold of the string once more, this time managing to run off with it. 

Cat Jester hopped up on the table in front of Caleb, sitting down on whatever papers he had in front of him. She dropped the string from her mouth, looking at him proudly. “Ja, that’s a good kitty.” He reached out and gave her a scratch under her chin. He felt the small vibrations of a purr as she stretched out her neck into his hand. Jester’s eyes closed, her cat instinct taking over once again as she leaned into the sensation. Caleb moved his hand away somewhat suddenly, causing the dazed Jester to tip forward ever so slightly. She glared once more, still not entirely sure if the expression matched her intent. She hopped off the table, making sure to kick a paper or two off with her back feet. “Sorry Jester.” Caleb apologized, “I did not mean to make you fall.” 

She looked back over her shoulder and meowed in response. It could have been an acceptance of his apology or a snide remark. It was hard to tell. Jester weaved her way between Yasha’s legs before heading back out into the tunnels. She knew the spell was about to wear off, but she wasn’t quite ready to call it a night. She’d started to explore further and further out once everyone had retired to her room. The tower was so much more impressive and expansive than Caleb had originally showed them. 

Jester was so impressed and enamored with the care and thoughtfulness that went into this home. Every single room and space had these unique and wonderful details. She was an artist, she knew what sort of mind and soul it took to create like this. She might not have understood the magic involved, but the artistry she definitely did. Jester had just reached the center of the Cat tunnels as her own form returned. “Hello friends!” She said as she gave the cats in the central room a good scratch before casting her one last spell for the day, turning into a cat once more. This time, rather than seeking out the rooms she knew, she opted to start making her way through new tunnels. As she passed through the ones she knew first, she noticed that the makeshift chapel of the Wildmother and the LIbrary were now empty. Everyone had retired for the evening. 

Cat Jester climbed higher in the tunnels, higher than she had before. They were darker and less travelled than others. Normally she’d run into a fey cat or two, but it had been some time since she had seen one. She finally came to an exit from the tunnels and stuck her head out into the space. Even with her cat eyes, the room was dark. She could barely make out the shape of three chairs in the center of the room. She was just about to return to the tunnels to continue exploring but then she heard a voice. 

“Nein, nein, das kann nicht wahr sein.”

Jester stepped further into the room, her eyes adjusting slightly more. Huddled in the corner she made out the outline of Caleb, seeming somehow even smaller than he usually does. He Had fallen asleep sitting upright, leaning against the wall in the corner. 

“Ich werde tun was ich muss. Ich werde tun was ich muss. Ich werde tun was ich muss.” Caleb repeated a phrase she could not understand. It was quiet, escaping his mouth as more of a breath than as actual words. 

Even as a cat, Jester knew she had found something that she was not meant to see. None of the Nein were. The dark and dirty room was just as carefully crafted as the rest of the tower, but it lacked the warmth and comfort. She looked closer at the chairs in the room. Three of them, all with what looked like straps along the arms and legs, and a large one that would go across the chest of whoever sat in them. The chairs were perfectly in a row and Caleb had leaned up against the wall directly across from the center chair. Jester stepped lightly around to face Caleb as best as she could without climbing onto his lap. She leaned forward and sniffed, her whiskers twitching and she took in his scent. 

It was not unpleasant. Truthfully it never really was. Well, perhaps at very first. And any time he went a little too far with the bat guano. But ignoring that, there was the usual scent of old parchment, musk, and hint of smoke. This time there was something else. It almost resembled the way Fjord would smell, sort of salty like the sea air. That was when she noticed that his eyes were damp. Apparently her sense of smell was much stronger as a cat. It seemed unlikely that was a scent she could have picked up on in her usual Tiefling body. No matter what form she was though, the sight in front of her caused her heart to ache. 

Caleb had put so much care and love into this home. And in the first night he had shared it, not a single one of them asked to see the space he had created for himself. Now though, she doubted he would have shared. Caleb was skilled in deflection.  
The stone floor was cold on her paws. She could only imagine that he was freezing where he laid upon the ground. She gingerly placed a paw on his thigh. He did not seem to respond to the light pressure, so she continued to climb into his lap. Jester knew that this was perhaps a bad idea, but the overwhelming desire to comfort him was too strong. She gave his chest a gentle head bump before curling up. 

“Ja, Frumpkin. Gutes Kätzchen.” He mumbled, a hand resting on her fluffy side for a moment before sliding back off in his slumber. 

Jester smiled, or at least, she tried to. He thought she was Frumpkin, but that was okay. It had maybe been enough to shake him from the memory he had locked himself into. She settled down for a bit, knowing that her spell would be ending soon, but a few moments here was important enough to her it was worth the risk. Caleb would most likely be upset with her for finding him like this. He kept so much of himself from the group, and from her specifically, but she wanted him to know that he didn’t have to, even if she could only do so here in stolen secret moments. 

The slight rumble of her instinctual purr began to match the ragged breath of the wizard’s sleep. Jester’s cat’s eyes closed slowly as the warmth from his body combined with her own, finally beating the chill that permeated the hauntingly cold space. 

“Hm. Frumpkin. You have put on weight, my friend.” Caleb mumbled, the weight of a cat across his lap finally rousing him. He glanced down at his lap expecting to see his fey orange tabby but instead there was a larger and much more blue cat in his lap. Every muscle in his body tensed at the recognition of his friend Jester in such close proximity. 

He did not know how long she had been there, nor how much longer she had in this form. His heart thudded in his ears. There was a fleeting thought that he should enjoy this moment, to cherish the concept of comfort. But it was not possible for him. Not here, not in this space. No one was supposed to see this room, least of all her. She could not see the path he walked before she came into his life. Her bright blue eyes will never look at him with the careful sympathy they usually did. Caleb could never meet her gaze when she glanced his way because he barely deserved pity, let alone sympathy. 

Caleb reached out a hand, hovering just above Jester’s sleeping form. He wasn’t sure if he was actually feeling the longest stray hairs brushing his palm or if he was imagining it. Actually reaching out to touch her like this felt like it was crossing a boundary, though the fact that she was laying in his lap was not lost on him. Before he could consider how best to get out of this situation, he sensed the arcane energy of Polymorph dissipating from her body. In an instant, Jester was sprawled across him. 

“Oh, Hello Cay-leb,” Jester greeted him, her cheek hovering inches from the cold stone. She was on her stomach now, still across the now awake wizard’s legs. 

“I take it you have been exploring?” Caleb asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. His arms were raised up near his head now, not wanting to risk more contact. 

Jester let out a dramatic sigh, “I think I fell asleep. Oopsie!” Rather ungracefully, she rolled down his legs on to her back so she could sit up. She looked towards Caleb, who was staring down at the space she just left. She craned her neck trying to will him to meet her gaze. “Cay-leb…” Her voice was soft - she knew she had to proceed carefully if she wanted him to open up to her.

Caleb did not lift his head. “Ja, Jester.”

“Why?” She asked simply. 

“I.. uh, do not know what you mean,” Perhaps she would not push him. This was of course a foolish thought. 

“Why did you make your bedroom like this?” She asked. Jester was only every astutely straightforward or unreasonably wordy. In this moment, she was the former. 

“This is not my bedroom, Jester.” He hoped that this would be enough of an answer for her. This was of course, also a foolish thought. 

“Is this where Icky-thong did this to you?” As she asked, her hand reached out towards his forearm, now resting in his lap. She trailed her first two fingers down his scars. He longed for the barrier of the wraps between his marred arm and her near perfect fingers. 

Caleb swallowed the bile rising in his throat. “Ja.” His eyes finally lifted, to meet hers, but instead, she was looking down at where her hand met his arm. He studied her face. It was still so tender, full of pain, but for some reason there was no sign of anger or fear. 

“Oh, Cay-leb, you don’t need to do this to yourself.” Their eyes finally met as she continued. “You got out. You left.”

“I left because HE let me.” Caleb cut her off. He had always clung to the memory of the woman who cleared his mind, but after the dinner with Trent, the foundation on which he built his redemption was cracked. “That woman… She… I always thought that I had been saved, that I was clever, that I earned my way out.” 

Jester now laced her fingers in his, not breaking eye contact. She could feel he wanted to retreat once more, but she would not let him, “He knows how to get to you. Cayleb. He’s like, totally trying to make you think you aren’t good enough.” 

“But I am not good, Jester.” Caleb’s eyes were glossy, tears forming fresh once more. 

Jester released his hand. The shuffling of getting herself to her knees to face him fully meant she missed the tiny sharp intake of breath from Caleb at the loss of contact. “Cay-leb, A good person would not have done what you did here with this tower. Like, you put so much thought into this, Cayleb. Like so much. The flowers I painted for Yahsa? The mirror for Beau. I mean seriously. That is, like, totally crazy.” Jester paused when she heard the weakest of chuckles from him breaking her from her impending ramble. She put a hand on either side of his face, “Trent tried to take credit for who you are. Who you’ve become. Don’t let him take that from you.”

“He… he wants me to be like him… I am no further away from him then when I was there.” He lifted his chin slightly, now staring at the chair in the center of the room.

Jester dropped her hands from his cheeks and followed his line of sight to the chair over her shoulder. She had noticed the straps when she first entered the room, but she hadn’t noticed the runes carved into the back and the chair, not the dark red stains on the arms. Caleb, if nothing else, had a mind for details. He left nothing out of his room of burden. Still looking at the chair she asked, “Do you want to be?” 

Caleb closed his eyes. There was once upon a time he would have wanted nothing more. And maybe, somewhere in here he still did. If he had the power that Trent’s position would give him... He loved his country, his home, and did truly want the best for it. People like Trent needed to be removed, but people like him would leave vacuums to be filled by any number of characters. 

“Cayleb…” Jester poked again. He had been taking too long to answer. The fear and disappointment he always expected from her was finally creeping into her voice. 

“Nein…” He whispered, “No…” He repeated in Common, with more confidence in his answer. His eyes opened once more relieved to see that the fear had not made its way to her face. 

“Good. Then I won’t let you.” Her response was stern, but not harsh. Jester leaned forward wrapping her arms around him, and rested her head on his chest just under his chin. Her use of I and not we was not lost on him. “You are totally cool, maybe not as cool as the Traveller, but like, no one is so that okay.” 

Caleb hesitantly brought his right arm up, hovering just above her waist, unsure if he could touch her once again. “I do not deserve you, Jester.” He spoke so quietly. It was almost too much for him to say out loud. He was honestly surprised it made it out of his mouth. 

“That’s silly, Cay-leb.” The sing-songy tambor to her voice rattled against his chest. His arm finally settled on her waist, emboldened slightly by the sensation. He decided that he would not miss the opportunity to hold the tiefling woman. 

“No, it is true. There is so much more I must do. I need…” Before he could finish the spiral, he felt her lips on his cheek. His keen mind memorized the curve of her lips, and the faint press of her nose before his heart had the sense to race. 

“Quiet. What you need is to sleep in a bed.” She stood up, using his chest for leverage. She held out her hand to help the increasingly flustered wizard to his feet, “Come on then, show me your actual bedroom.”


End file.
